Historic Bozeman Hotel Renovation

[shrapnel]

Living in Bozeman my entire life, I have seen lots of changes over the years. Too many old buildings were demolished for progress and they put up some real junk where the frontier buildings used to be.

Someone bought the Bozeman Hotel and is having it renovated. I was in there this morning talking to the construction workers and they told me what was going on.

It was all good news, the new owner values the structure and wants it to be restored in the best and most historic way. It was built in 1890 and undergone many modifications over the years with little concern for the integrity of the original structure.

It will be finished sometime in 2028 and in the mean time they have a dedicated crew, working hard on the restoration.

This is some of what I saw that was done by other contractors over time, and some not too concerned with how good of a job they did…

 

[Wildabeest]

Gotta love how the Elevator sign points to the stairs.

 

[Goodfish]

The tough part in renovating the old ones is dealing with asbestos, lead paint, and seismic upgrades before you even get to aesthetics. Then it’s a complete rebuild of mechanical and electrical so it’s tough to make a pro forma work if they are too far gone! It’s sure an honor to be part of a team to save one.

 

[Hem]

The tough part in renovating the old ones is dealing with asbestos, lead paint, and seismic upgrades before you even get to aesthetics. Then it’s a complete rebuild of mechanical and electrical so it’s tough to make a pro forma work if they are too far gone! It’s sure an honor to be part of a team to save one.

Pretty shitty brick repair IMO.

 

[shrapnel]

Pretty shitty brick repair IMO.

Looks like something I would have done…

 

[mtmuley]

Hiding modern upgrades in an old building is tough. Hope they pull it off. mtmuley

 

[R.K.]

Pretty shitty brick repair IMO.

That brick “repair” is going to give me nightmares.

 

[Goodfish]

That brick “repair” is going to give me nightmares.

There is definitely a reason for building inspectors. It is stunning the things people do.

 

[Hem]

There is definitely a reason for building inspectors. It is stunning the things people do.

Some of those in-fill areas are probably still structural( so to speak, its brick right?) Bozeman inspectors micro- manage, but often dont have a clue. Clearly the supervisor said good enough.

 

[Charlie Bob]

There is definitely a reason for building inspectors. It is stunning the things people do.

We had a guy build a workshop in the attic of two story 8 unit condo building . Cut trusses down and everything . He got caught when he tried to sell it , it failed inspection , LOL .
Turned out he did it for two other friends in different buildings . Guess who got to inspect all the buildings attics ?LOL

 

[Charlie Bob]

Some of those in-fill areas are probably still structural( so to speak, its brick right?) Bozeman inspectors micro- manage, but often dont have a clue. Clearly the supervisor said good enough.

It would seem the header for the original windows or openings would still be there and functional ? They were mostly just plugging the hole ?
Still ugly .

 

[Letthemgrow]

That brick work makes me nauseous.
We restored an 1895 Queen Anne as our first home. Ended up getting it registered with the national historical society. The masons we found were artists. They traveled all over the country doing big historical jobs like lighthouses and would work on our place when they were home for a few off days. Miss that house.

 

[Gerald Martin]

Looks like that brick repair was intended to be hidden behind Sheetrock in an earlier renovation. Structural headers are still intact above the original RO’s for the windows and doors that were taken out and filled in with brick.

Ugly now, functional then. Most likely owner and contractor were focused on spending the money on getting a good finish on the Sheetrock rather than making the brick match the original.


Show me an owner who wants to prioritize structural and function over aesthetic and finish and I will show you a rare exception to the majority of owners….



Actual conversation in Bozeman last week.

“We’ve decided not to include humidity on our HVAC system because we want to save money. We don’t think it’s necessary to spend $3500 on that.”

“The difference in cost between 8’ tall vs 10’ for our interior door package is only $20,000. We think that’s not that big of a difference to be able to get the ‘wow factor’ we want.”


Yes sir, it’s your house. Please sign here on this hold harmless waiver that acknowledges that any cupping, gapping, or checking on your wide plank hardwood floors is not covered by warranty…